


Daughter of the Wolf

by Corgi



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: F/M, Families of Choice, Other, close family, more tags to come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-02-08 15:03:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18625660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corgi/pseuds/Corgi
Summary: The air around her chills the very depths of her bones, and she suppresses a shiver. The struggle to put one foot in front of the other is becoming harder and harder as each gust of icy wind cuts through her body, and she laments the fact that she didn't prepare for the true winter that had enveloped Northrend. A stronger gale forces her off her feet, tumbling into the snow banks to her side, and she sits in shock for a moment. Her mind wonders back home for a moment, just a moment, thinking of the comforts that would be there if she'd never left home. But then the memory of how her father dismissed her desires to help cuts through her a little colder than the snow around her. She grimaces to herself as she surges back to her feet.Aunt Jaina had always joked that she'd rebel against her father one day, but she probably didn't quite mean this.





	1. Chapter One

The air around her chills the very depths of her bones, and she suppresses a shiver. The struggle to put one foot in front of the other is becoming harder and harder as each gust of icy wind cuts through her body, and she laments the fact that she didn't prepare for the true winter that had enveloped Northrend. A stronger gale forces her off her feet, tumbling into the snow banks to her side, and she sits in shock for a moment. Her mind wonders back home for a moment, just a moment, thinking of the comforts that would be there if she'd never left home. But then the memory of how her father dismissed her desires to help cuts through her a little colder than the snow around her. She grimaces to herself as she surges back to her feet.  

Aunt Jaina had always joked that she'd rebel against her father one day, but she probably didn't quite mean this. 

Gritting her teeth together – mainly to stop them chattering – she places herself back on what she hopes is the road. Light knows that she’s been following it for long enough, and if she’s gotten herself lost out here there was definitely never going to make it home.   

“Only you could manage this, Aellie.” She spits, lifting an arm up to brush some flakes out of her eyes.  

The only saving grace at this moment, it seemed was that whilst the wind was awful there was no actual snowfall. The Tuskarr at Moa’ki Harbour had assured her that the walk to Wrymrest was pretty straight forward as long as she stayed on the path, and she hoped that she was at least doing that right.  

When she’d originally boarded the ship to the Tundra, she’d assumed that she could just stick about in Valiance Keep until she could tack herself onto a group of experienced adventurers as an apprentice or something similar. Upon her arrival, however, she’d been dismayed to realise that the only operations that needed carrying out around the Keep were being done by sanctified Alliance forces and that most adventurers had moved out of the South West Tundra weeks ago. 

She didn’t really fancy trying to integrate herself into the military presence there – not that she really thought they’d appreciate a novice rogue stumbling around under their feet. It was a funny thought at the time, that she’d witnessed active military life many times before, but the idea of actually having to join in scared her a little. Plus, it’d be her luck that if she had tried, one of the more senior commanders might have recognised her and sent her packing.  

Light, the thought made her frown. She’d come so far without being caught, convinced several different people that she’d be elsewhere and that they needn’t worry about her. There was a brief flash of guilt through her, knowing that she was abusing so much trust placed in her and the fact that it was the time of war that was keeping minds engaged elsewhere. The guilt didn’t last long, however, as her newfound sense of freedom mollified her slightly – no matter how gilded, a cage was still a cage.  

And, besides, if she managed to keep herself safe long enough, she’d return home willingly after she’d had her fill of adventure. Face the music and all that – maybe if she made the effort to show she actually wanted to come home, her punishment might be a little less? Maybe, fifty years instead of the rest of her life.  

Aellie squinted ahead of her as the grey sky spread out in front of her, and she realised with a surge of hope that she could see the top of a tall spire in the far distance. Instantly the chill lessened as the realisation that she was actually on the right path lifted her spirits.  

Back at the Keep, the suggestions from the Call Board was either to some place in the North East called the Storm Peaks, or to the direct East into Dragonblight. The thought of cold  _and_ mountains didn’t really endear the former choice to her at all, so she’d instead signed herself up to visit Wrymrest as a member of the Alliance.  

The sea journey to the small Tuskarr fishing town hadn’t been long – especially not in comparison to the journey from Stormwind to Northrend in the first place – and she’d instantly felt welcomed by the people there. She never would have thought she’d be cosy underground in the snow, but the short stay she’d had there had actually been rather comfortable. Of course, there was the added bonus that she’d had her first real go at being an adventurer.  

The Tuskarr must have realised that she was relatively green around the edges, and they’d given her some relatively easy tasks to undertake. Gather some things here, hunt some things there – all very basic stuff. It had been a nice time to adjust to her new environment; learning to stay silent and near invisible in the thick snow, changing how she used the shadows to her advantage in an environment where there wasn’t many, to begin with.  

The people of the Harbour had been immensely grateful for her help and had treated her exceptionally as a visiting ally, and she’d relished the little comforts of staying in that town for the better part of a fortnight. She’d been tempted to stay longer, but the thought of greater adventure was calling to her, and she expressed to the innkeeper – a kind, grandfatherly figure named Mumik – her desire to see the home of the dragonflights.  

He’d cautioned her against going at first, explaining the rough political climate that was boiling through the flights, but she’d smiled and assured him that she was used to navigating tense situations. He’d shrugged and helped her prepare for it, telling her that she was always welcome to return should she need to.  

The Temple itself was becoming larger and larger as she continued at a good pace, its grand white structure a beacon against the snow-heavy dark clouds beyond it. She must have been about an hour away on foot before she got her first inkling of just exactly what Mumik had been cautioning her against.  

At first, the sound was easily lost in the roaring wind, but her instincts proved useful when she stopped and ducked slightly, pulling her white cloak closer to her body as a huge blue body flew overhead. For a moment, she was struck dumb as she crouched in the snow.  

The giant blue dragon soared above her and towards the temple, the strong and powerful wingbeat forcing the air to displace around her. Seeing them here, out in the wide-open reaches of Northrend was a far sight better than the first time she’d ever laid eyes on a dragon, and she found herself beaming as the dragon took up circling the tower.  

She watched for a good while, mesmerised by them, before noticing that more of the blue flight were beginning to join them in circling the tower. Aellie couldn’t claim to be a dragon expert, but the way they continued to spiral reminded her of hunting birds that had found their target. Perhaps there was something to Mumik’s warnings after all. The smile slipped off her face as she pulled her cloak around her better to hide any of the dark leathers beneath, and continued to walk again towards the tower.  

Cautiously she kept an eye on the restless flight as she eventually made it to the base of the tower, and she slowly climbed the stairs at the base with most of her attention on the sky. As she reached the outer walls she stopped and glanced about, taking in the grand marble archways that permitted entrance to the inner ground level. She noticed almost instantly that the wind vanished from around her, and that the chill that had persisted throughout her days travel had all but crept from her bones.  

Aellie could only assume that there was some sort of magic at play as she wandered further into the inner shelter, taking note of a hastily erected campsite to the far side of the cavernous room. Whilst the tents where mainly clustered together, she could still see a distinct line through the middle that she could only assume separated the factions from one another. Elsewhere there had been talk that mentioned the fact that the dragons had stressed neutrality to both the Horde and the Alliance, and had said that both sides were welcome as long as they adhered to the sanctuary the Temple provided.  

As she wandered over to the blue side of the campsite, she wondered how well that had been going for everyone involved.  

Her footsteps were nearly silent as she walked, but as she got closer a figure lifted her head in a greeting. A druid, by the looks of it, sat in her elven form outside a tent that had been placed in front of some sort of enchanted campfire, and the heat that she could already feel it emitting was glorious.  

“Greetings friend! Welcome to Wrymrest. There are many tents free, claim whichever one you want that’s open.” Aellie nodded in understanding and the night elf settled back down, content with having delivered the message. Aellie continued onwards, noting that perhaps two or three of the ten alliance tents seemed occupied by people, and she herself crawled into the tent across the fire from the druid.  

Placing her bag down, she took a moment to glance about properly at the room, noticing for the first time various different members of different flights travelling around. They seemed pretty content to leave the campsite alone, and continued on their business with little mind to Aellie watching them go. High above, she heard the beat of wings, and as she located the noise a small drake peeled away from an alcove to tumble down and out into the wide expanse of snow that surrounded them.  

“Oh!” Aellie glanced back at the druid, who blinked at her. “The caretakers here have stressed that this is a peaceful area, and any fighting with the Horde won’t be tolerated.” Aellie glanced at the other side of the campsite and noticed that around seven tents seemed to be occupied.  

“I heard before I made the journey, but that you for telling me.” She replied with a smile. “I have no desire to pick a fight today, that I assure you.” The druid nodded and settled down again, and suddenly Aellie stifled a yawn into her damp sleeve.  

The sudden enveloping warmth of the campfire was making her realise just how tired she was after the days trek through the rough terrain, and whilst she found herself bone tired she couldn’t keep a smile off her face as she settled into her tent.  

Her outer clothes and leather protections came off and she placed them at the entrance to the tent, hoping that the heat of the fire would dry the dampness out of them. She pulled some dried meat out of her bag and bit at it as she inspected the small cot, muffling her yawns into her shoulder. Satisfied with the cot, she peeled back the rough covers and settled herself into it, struggling to keep her eyes open as her head hit whatever it was they were trying to pass as a pillow.  

She found that she didn’t care much about it, and whilst it wasn’t exactly the same luxury she received at home, it was a godsend after the cold journey she’d had. Before long she found herself slipping off into the welcome embrace of sleep.  


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aellie goes for a walk and finds herself in trouble. She also makes a friend.

The request board within the Temple was honestly lacking anything interesting; which was a damn shame, because despite the hard bedding she’d slept on, Aellie had woken up ready and raring to go out and do something worthwhile. She hadn’t expected it to be bustling with activity exactly, the region was reasonably stable with the presence of the dragonflights, and thus neither Horde nor Alliance seemed too fussed with enforcing a heavy military force in the area.

There had been the problem with the blue dragonflight, which she’d heard rumour had been pretty important, but that’d been dealt with before she’d even slipped off the boat to Darnassus. And whilst the floating citadel of Naxxramas still hung in the sky to the east, she knew that the halls were mostly empty of the scourge that had existed within. There were still forces stationed at Wintergarde (which she’d be keeping a good distance from for now) and Venomspite (which she would also be avoiding for obvious reasons).

Still, it was a shame that all the requests on the board were so _mundane_ – go and get some herbs for medicines; help a caravan on its way to Star’s Rest; some other boring task. Someone had told her once that the life of an adventurer wasn’t as exciting as it was in the songs and stories, but the reality of it was beginning to set in. All of the delays in getting here had meant that she’d missed anything exciting to test her skills, and now she was basically left with nothing but scraps. Maybe it might be best to move onto the Fjord for now, until they were calling able bodies into siege the Citadel in Icecrown.

She sighed, slumping slightly at her rotten luck, and turned from the board. Maybe if she went and worked off some energy these requests would seem more appealing to her. It wouldn’t hurt to look out for those medicinal herbs that were up there, and she wondered that if she could make a bit of gold off of it, she might be able to rent a mount to take her into the Fjord proper.

Heading back over to the rest area she nodded to the same druid that was still on watch and Aellie moved to her tent to gather her things. She was relatively certain that no one would bother stealing her stuff, tucked into her tent, so she left all her travelling gear safely in the warm canvas area. She was left with her leathers and her snow-white cloak, and, of course, her knives.

They’d been a secret gift from her near-aunt, beautiful gleaming steel set that shone, set into a sturdy golden hilt that had been designed to fit her hands alone. The flat surfaces of the blade were engraved with a winding stalk of delphiniums on one side, and a roaring lion on the other. The familiar weight of her dual daggers was a balm against anything negative that could affect her, and she double checked the holsters that kept them against her thighs as she moved out of the shelter of the Temple.

Thankfully, it wasn’t storming outside, and she found it easy to slip into the silent shadow world of rogues even out here in the open snowy fields that surrounded the Temple on either side. She kept to the paths as she walked – the packed snow meant that she wasn’t leaving any footprints as she moved. Her near-aunt had assured her that it never hurt to be too cautious, and it never hurt to cover her tracks as she went.

She’d learnt how to cloak herself back in Stormwind, under careful tutelage that her father had not been privy too. She’d held relative trust in her abilities as a rogue, as novice as she might be, to move from one side of her home city to another without being caught by anyone – and these skills weren’t hard to apply to Northrend. Her theory was proved when a travelling caravan went past her, embellished with Horde banners and various people aboard on their way towards the Temple. Not even the giant hyena that looked as though it belonged to one of the bow-wielding hunters on board had paid her any notice when it jogged an arm’s reach in front of her.

Aellie waited until they were further down the road before she stepped off the road and moved towards the treeline of the nearest hill. Her cloak had been weighted at the bottom, and dragged over the looser snow on the top, creating a brushed path rather than individual footsteps that the average traveller would hopefully just look over.

Heading into the trees, the ground wasn’t as flat as the open fields, probably due to the branches and boughs interrupting most of the snowfall, and whilst she stayed cloaked, she didn’t take as much care where she stepped.

Despite the cold around her, there was a peace to be found amongst the silent trees of Northrend that stood like guardians towering above her. There was a feeling of sheltered safety that settled into her bones as she drifted between the trunks – thicker than she was – and it was easy to forget about the world ending problem that rested in the land she walked across. The calm of the trees made her long for the deep forests of Elwynn, the dark shade that hugged close that kept her safe throughout her childhood.

That calm shattered instantly when a harsh beacon of light burst overhead and startled Aellie into almost tripping over her own two feet. The shock of the flare shattered her cloaking and she turned on her heel to look at her assailant when a giant furred body slammed into her and forced her down into the snow.

Hot breath washed over her face and sharp teeth came closer to her throat as the hyena from earlier snarled down at her, paws pinning her body down as Aellie now heard the footsteps of its hunter coming up beside it. A troll sneered down at her face, before crouching down next to the body of their pet.

“Ahh, thought Kuu’va ‘ad smelt some-ting there on da trail, mon.” His accent was thick and heavy as he spoke common. “Didn’t think I’d be findin’ such a small human out her on her lonesome.”

She’d never met a troll before, and this was an awful way to do so. The troll was classically blue skinned with a careful array of dark green braids hanging down to his back. His left tusk was broken off about three quarters up, and he had a handful of coloured metal rings in his lips. Much like her, he was dressed in dark colours but did have the addition of bright feathers and bright strips of colour around his forearms. Aellie stared, deathly quiet as the hyena continued to growl deeply, and the troll looked over her person again.

“Whatcha be doing out ‘ear den?” He asked carefully, rising back to his full height over her. His eyes narrowed dangerously as she hesitated, and the hyena gave another low snarl into her face.

“Herbs- for the Temple-“ She squeaked out, finding it a little hard to breathe with the weight of a fully grown beast on her chest. “Please- I don’t want to cause you any harm-“

“Even if ya did, mon; yer not really in the place to be pulling any-ting fancy.” She didn’t reply to that but did make a move to inch a hand closer to the blade furthest away from the hunter. “A little baby rogue all alone out here in the cold is a dangerous place to be, any-ting could happen-“

“Gamjee, what are you doing?” A new voice asked, and Aellie could only just make out a shock of red hair and long tipped ears over the beast on top of her. The troll looked put out and sighed, shaking his head slowly.

“Just findin’ a rat. I told ya’ to go on ahead.” He replied, and the newcomer sighed in response.

“We’re here to bring supplies to the Temple, Gamjee, not murder a child playing at an adventurer. Get your beast off of her.” Aellie hadn’t met many blood elves in her time, but she could just about place the accent as one of the sin’dorei. Her assumption was proved correct when the Hyena finally stepped off of her, moving instead to press closer to the hunter’s side, and revealed a male blood elf stood there looking down at her.

He was quite young, she thought, with short styled red hair and blazing golden eyes. He was dressed in deep crimson attire that sat loosely across his body, with an ornate staff on his back – a mage perhaps? He was scowling at the troll as he reached down to offer her a hand, and Aellie took it gingerly. Even if he was a caster, he was strong enough to help her back to her feet almost effortlessly, and she nodded her head quickly as thanks.

“My apologies, I’m certain that Gamjee here didn’t mean you any harm.” The elf told her, and Aellie could only shoot a concerned glance at the hyena – who now wasn’t paying her any attention in the slightest. “Despite how rude he and Kuu’va were. Some of us find it easy to forget that there is a peace accord at the moment.” The troll rolled his eyes.

“When Kuu’va smells a human hidden on the roads, it’s easy to jump to conclusions mon.” He replied haughtily, before shrugging. “But it's easy to be jumpin’ at shadows around ‘ere.”

“Why don’t you and Kuu’va return to the cart and continue on, whilst I make sure you haven’t done any lasting damage?” The elf phrased it as a question, but there was a familiar note of steel in his voice that implied it wasn’t a choice at all. The troll looked warily between the two of them for a moment, before nodding in acquiescence. Together, he and his beast turned from the two of them and headed back down the hill towards the road.

It was only when they were out of sight that Aellie allowed herself to relax a little. Her hands inched away from her knives as the elf turned back to look her up and down, and then reach out to brush some snow off of her shoulder.

“I am sorry about him. It’s been a tense ride from Agmar’s Hammer.” He offered, and she blinked at him. “But it is unusual to see such a young human as yourself alone here in Northrend – you said you were collecting herbs?”

“Well, to be honest, I just came for a walk, but thought to collect any of the correct herbs I came across.” She replied quietly, watching him warily. “I didn’t mean to be so suspicious at the side of the road – I honestly didn’t think anyone would have caught on to the fact that I was there.” She cursed herself inwardly at being caught like that and vowed then to not get so comfortable next time. Like she’d told herself earlier; it never hurt to be too careful. “And you have my thanks, for coming to my aid like that. I don’t think I want to know what would have happened otherwise.”

“Gamjee wouldn’t have hurt you,” He replied easily, and at her incredulous look laughed a little. “More than he had – like I said, some of the other Horde members are quick to forget that there is a greater threat than the Alliance here in the North. And besides, you are very young, and trolls aren’t likely to murder children.”

“I’m not a child.” She replied instantly, frowning. “I’m old enough, thank you.” His eyes sparkled with amusement and he nodded his head to her with a smile. He must be a mage, she decided then, a fire mage at that. The amount of heat rolling off him was like being sat in front of a sizable camping fire, and she felt herself relax a little further as the chill was chased away from her bones. She knew that mages’ bodies could reflect their schools sometimes – her aunt, for example, could make an awful pillow to cuddle against sometimes when her skin felt akin to ice.

“I see,” He said, with a warmth in his voice. “My apologies for the assumption. But, what do they call such young-looking rogues such as yourself?” She found that she rather liked the playful tone of his voice and offered him her own smile in return.

“You may call me Aellie, and what should I call you?” She held her hand out and he clasped it firmly near her elbow, and she clasped the similar area of his arm.

“You may call me Hal.” He replied in turn, and they released clasped arms. “Why don’t we return to the Temple and you can tell me properly why you’re here in Northrend by yourself?” He turned and began to head off down the hill, not waiting for her to reply.

“I thought that we weren’t allowed into each other’s encampments?” She asked curiously, easily falling into step with him. He was a head and a half above her in height, and so his steps were longer to suit the added length of his legs – that was fine though, she’d lived her whole life with people taller than her.

“I’m sure we can find a compromise if we look hard enough. Besides, I rather find you intriguing, Aellie, so I think I can suffer through some dark looks from either encampment.” He told her casually, and she smiled to herself as her cheeks flushed a little.

“Won’t your companions be upset?” She asked further as they stepped out of the woods and back into the snowfields, and she was grateful that he was still emitting such heat at her side.

“I doubt it, we only met on the road, truth be told.” He replied casually as they fell into an easy walking pace with one another. “Besides, I think their stop at the Temple is only a short one before they head onto Venomspite.”

“I see,” She said with a nod of her head. “Is that where you’re heading? To Venomspite?” She wondered what the forsaken encampment might be like – she’d certainly never seen anything built by the undead that had allied with the Horde before, but she’d heard that everything was dark and foreboding.

“Not exactly, I accepted a task to explore New Hearthglen on the coast. Tomorrow I’m going to be heading out to see what exactly the Scarlet Onslaught is doing in Northrend.” He told her casually.

“They’re the remnants of the Scarlet Crusade, correct? I can’t imagine they’re here to work peacefully alongside either faction.” She told him, and he chuckled lightly. The walk back to the Temple seemed much shorter than the walk she’d had away from it, and she didn’t even notice the change in temperature that the enchanted hall offered this time.

It seemed about noon now, as there was a mess of activity in near to the campsites. Several towering dragonspawn were stood handing out food to Horde and Alliance members alike, and Aellie was pleased to see that the members of her own faction behaving politely to everyone around them. The Horde members seemed wary mostly but looked as though they were accepting the offered warming food without too much complaint.

Aellie and her new companion headed over to get their own shares of food, but Hal cheerfully told her to take a seat and he would grab food for the two of them. Any weak protests were pushed aside as he sat her down at one of the fires outside the camps, and she sat still as she watched him go over to talk to the tall red dragonspawn that bowed his head to the elf. She didn’t really think that he’d try to do anything to her food whilst they were in a sanctuary like this, but _it never hurt to be careful_ , and she watched as he seemed pretty jovial with the larger creature. At one point it looked as though the dragonspawn was surprised that he was there for two portions, as Hal pointed over in her direction with another easy smile. Aellie offered a nod to them both, and the dragonspawn just seemed perplexed.

Hal said something to him, and the being just nodded distantly, before handing over two bowls of the hearty smelling stew. Quickly Hal returned to her side and offered her the meal, which she took with a thank you. She felt quite comfortable then tucking into the food provided, as Hal did the same at her side.

“Say, despite being caught out by a hyena earlier, you are a proficient rogue, correct?” He asked her after he’d finished wolfing down his food. Part of her distantly wondered if all the tales she’d been told of how reserved blood elves were had all been an exaggeration, or if Hal was just something unique to his kind.

“Disregarding the incident earlier; yes, I believe I am sufficient enough as a rogue.” She replied between mouthfuls, and he looked as though he was pondering something. “Why do you ask?”

“Would you be willing to accompany me into Hearthglen? Whilst I am relatively stealthy when I want to be, I’m sure it would be beneficial to have a shadow watching my back.” He offered, and she stared dumbly for a moment.

Realistically, she had absolutely no reason to trust this elf, other than the easy camaraderie they’d struck up in the short while they’d known one another. This could be an awful trap, she reasoned, but then again if she was so careful about things, she never would have come to Northrend in the first place.

So, she grinned at him, bright eyed and eager.

“If you would have me, I would be honoured to join you.”


	3. Chapter Three

The two of them had set out just after dusk on that same day to head over and scout the compound before they made any attempt on their first task. They’d agreed not to use horses to get over to the woods that surrounded the perimeter of the outer wall – leaving them alone in the cold dark at night would probably just lose the Temple two steeds – but despite the darkening sky they made it to the perimeter wall in relatively good time.

The white stone exteriors of New Hearthglen loomed in the dusky twilight, a stark contrast of the rapidly darkening night sky that framed it. The outer wall was sparsely guarded, possibly due to the lateness of the hour, and the two of them had little difficulty finding a gap in the patrolling guard and slipping into the keep proper.

She was pleased that Hal seemed to be following her lead whilst moving silently through the almost empty streets, sticking close to her as they moved from the shadows of one building to the next. When he’d first cloaked himself in his own magic based invisibility, she was surprised to see how effective it actually was. From her understanding, rogue stealth worked on the manipulation of shadows around a rogue to support their brand of invisibility, whilst also muting any noise that they created to truly create a _void_ where a person should be. Mage stealth was the use of magic to remove themselves from sight – and like most magics, it left a slight trace that best resembled the shimmer of heat that would appear over a fire or similar. To the untrained eye it was very convincing – but even she as a relatively novice rogue could see the signs easily.

They hadn’t been spotted yet though, which she half chalked up to her helping him; or to the inhabitants having no reason to look for intruders. From a young age she’d had the need to prepare for anything installed into her, and to say that she’d needed that quick sense of readiness growing up would be an understatement. She couldn’t believe that they were moving so easily towards the cemetery where Hal said his contact was; but she supposed that with the undead apocalypse brewing all around them, the Scarlet Onslaught probably weren’t concerned with anyone trying to break into their encampment.

The contact in question was only referred to as ‘Agent Skully’ – which was a bold choice of name for a Forsaken spy to go by, but the further they got without trouble helped Aellie to believe that the Onslaught were very ignorant to the concept that outer forces could be at work amongst them.

As they rounded the corner of the Abbey, she instantly caught sight of a lone cemetery caretaker raking snow off the graves. They both stood and watched for a moment before the woman stood up and wiped her forehead with a deep sigh, and Hal patted her shoulder gently whilst moving forward and dismissing his stealth. The plan was that she’d stay away from any Horde agents – especially Forsaken – just in case they took particular offense to her being there and involved in their plans.

So, as the blood elf cautiously began to speak to the woman, Aellie hovered by the entrance gate to keep an eye out for any lone person that might have walked by. The woman, who was definitely this ‘Agent Skully’ as the disguise dropped for a moment to reveal the undead form of a Forsaken, seemed relieved that someone had finally come to help unravel the whole operation, and was rather animatedly speaking to Hal with expressive hand movements. The mage was nodding along with what the spy was telling him, and before long he had spelled himself invisible again and was coming back over to where he’d left her.

She reached out and grabbed him arm as he moved past her, and he stilled under her touch briefly, before moving to lean in closer to her.

“There are orders to test the waters a little,” He explained in a whisper, barely audible over the coastal wind around them. “One of the Archbishops have stepped up with the blessings of the troops, apparently strong enough to worry the leaders over at Venomspite. We have to steal his prayer book and get it back so we can be properly prepared if they intend to move on us. His office is apparently in the Chapel across from the Lumbermill.”

“So we go over, head in, steal the book and get out?” She questioned in reply, suddenly eager to get to do something. She felt him nod in reply, and she released his arm. “Right, I’ll follow you.”

“Stay close.”

They set off again, back around the side of the Abbey, pressing themselves close to the inner walls to move through the empty paths. The lamplight was sparse, but she didn’t want to take any chances, keeping as far into the shadows as she could. As they reached the top of a small snowed incline, Aellie could see both a building that could only be a lumbermill and the Chapel that stood across from it.

And there was a problem.

The Chapel windows were glowing with light, and the voices of a choir singing carried out of the door. They paused and Hal crouched down whilst Aellie swore mentally, and inside the chorus swelled with a hymn praising the Light. She’d been to many services at the Cathedral of Light and was well familiar with the evening services that were occasionally led for the people of the City, and she was well aware that they could last on into the night.

“I have a plan,” Hal said quietly, and she leaned down to hear him a little better over the signing and the wind. “I need you to get into position near the Chapel, and I’m going to make a distraction.”

“What sort of distraction?” She asked hesitantly, and he turned to look pointedly at the darkened lumbermill across from them.

“You’ll see. Stay safe.” He was suddenly not there, and she saw the soft shimmers appear across the road and then again towards the side of the building. She then started into moving herself, quietly moving around to the back of the Chapel, and then to the far side. She moved back towards the doorway, sticking to the shadows being cast at the base of the building’s walls, and paused to wait for Hal’s ‘distraction’.

The choir’s voices swelled into something grand and were it not for the reason she was her she might have been persuaded to stay and listen for a while. They were quite good, weaving their harmonies in a well-practiced fashion that created a pure symphony of voices swirling together. Of course, she knew the words herself but not to this level of devotion. Whilst religion came easier to her family, it had always been more of an expectation for her to practice and keep the Light. She’d be a fool to dismiss the Light – she’d seen first-hand just how useful the holy force could be in the right hands – but she’d never felt the succinct connection that so many others had professed.

Which was fine – she was far more suited to the shadows anyway.

It took several minutes for anything to happen – just long enough for her stomach to twist at the thought of something ill befalling her new companion – when she finally understood Hal’s plan. Orange light was beginning to build within the lumbermill, and she smiled a little as the crackling flames began to build into a roaring inferno in no time. A bell rang out in the silence, somewhere back towards the Abbey they’d come from, and before long the congregation were pouring out of the Chapel to investigate what the commotion was all about.

The red-hot flames began to climb out of the windows, giant red swathes of flame reaching out into the sky as think black smoke poured out into the sky. The congregation that had emerged were instantly in a panic, calls for water and snow to come forward and try to salvage the building before they were left with the shell of a building. She couldn’t see Hal anywhere beyond the crowd or the building, so she hoped that he’d gotten away without being hurt.

She only had a short window to get in without being noticed, and the stream of people stopped she took a moment to jump the stairs and silently pass under the stone archway and into the Chapel. The space loomed, large and empty; ornately furnished as most holy buildings were. The pews were made of a dark wood that appeared to be the same native species that persisted in Northrend, and they were neatly placed in the bulk of the hall with spaces between the walls, and then a white carpeted aisle down the centre.

There were several prayer books scattered about, mostly dropped in the sudden exodus outwards and most of them had open pages pressed to the surfaces that they were resting on. Four great stone pillars stood in the corners of the main hall area, and two great stained-glass windows shone between them on either side. The coloured glass seemed to depict figures that the Onslaught must have considered to be great heroes, people framed heroically using the Light to vanquish their enemies. Tall golden candelabras were located along the walls and in front of the alter, casting warm golden candlelight across the room.

It was a beautiful hall, but she didn’t have the time to sit and admire it any further. Sticking to the walls as much as she could, she passed the alter and crept through the door at the back of the hall, revealing a cold stone staircase that she began to climb.

‘ _Please don’t let anyone be coming down for the love of all things Holy…’_ She thought as she climbed the horrifically narrow steps upwards, muffling her footsteps just in case someone was listening close to the passage. Thankfully the fire was proving an ‘all hands’ emergency and it _was_ empty, and she reached the top of the staircase without any trouble. There was a small landing with three doors – one directly in front of her, and then the other two either side.

Aellie first tried the door closest, and the door opened easily to reveal a small storage cupboard. There were a couple large ornate candlesticks placed in one corner, with other religious objects stored neatly around the room. It didn’t exactly look like the Archbishop would leave his highly precious prayer book in a common storage room, so she moved on to the next one. The door in the middle was locked, so she quickly checked the third one to reveal a similar storeroom.

She moved to crouch in front of the door whilst fishing her lockpicks out of her hip packs and got to work picking the lock. Back home, she’d driven people to distraction whilst practicing this particular skill, constantly getting into rooms that she shouldn’t and annoying a lot of people whilst doing it. They’d had to up the quality of the locks that had very important things behind them, but her teacher had just laughed and taught her how to pick those as well. In the end, she was very politely sat down by one of her caretakers, who explained that her practising was being very detrimental to day to day life, and she’d stopped after that. Well, unless if was to get into the kitchens to have some extra dessert.

This lock wasn’t very high quality, and she opened it in no time at all, opening the door to reveal a sizable room that looked as though it functioned as an office. She passed into the room and moved forward to the desk sat at the head of the room. The desk was in disarray, a mess of papers piled here and there that didn’t appear to be in any semblance of order. She briefly leafed through a couple of the top documents that appeared to be inventory manifests or something similar – not what she was here for. There were three drawers on the side of the desk and one of them was locked again, and she brought her tools back up to pick the lock. It was a harder one this time, and she paused to flex her fingers before beginning to twist the delicate tools in order to unlock it.

‘ _Hopefully this’ll be the right place. Not sure why there would be a lock like this if it wasn’t protecting something important.’_ She thought as she continued to work the lock, and after a handful of minutes it opened with a load _click._

The drawer slid out smoothly, to reveal a heavy gold-trimmed book nestled on top of a velvet setting. It was heavy to lift out of its precious nest but just bigger than her open palm, and she traced the golden inlayed runes across the cover with reverence. The book itself was beautiful, heavy dark leather bindings with golden corner accents depicting bursts of Light, and the pages themselves were edged in a gold leaf. The writing inside was neat and curved, and she recognised the writing of several prayers in the columns of text.

“Ah, what’s this? A rat?” A deep voice called from the doorway, and she snapped to look at the man in Bishop’s robe stood in the doorway. “Fingers in things they shouldn’t have, I see. What are you? Alliance? Horde?”

Aellie shifted on the balls of her feet and stood to her feet instantly as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, carefully watching as shadowed magic swirled around his hands. He looked furious as she clutched the prayer book closer to her body and she cursed the fact that she hadn’t secured herself an exit before coming in. There was a window behind the desk, a single pane of glass that she could fit through if she tucked herself up, but it looked tightly closed. Better than nothing no.

There was no time as a sudden bolt of Shadow magic slammed into her shoulder, as she turned in time to avoid taking a hit to her chest. In a single flourish she slipped the prayer book into her hip bags and drew her daggers, preparing herself for a fight.

Casters typically had a harder time fighting melee fighters, but she’d never had to fight a Shadow Priest before. His hands swirled again, and she rolled out of the way of several more bolts of Shadow before vanishing into her own stealth. Her shoulder was aching from the initial bolt, so avoiding anything else would be for the best.

The Bishop snarled at the empty room and his whole form suddenly erupted with dark energy, knocking her clean off her feet and heavily to the side. Her daggers went clattering to the side as the blast took her by surprise. There was no time to react as he charged across the room and kicked out to see where her body was. The blow impacted into her side and she cried out in pain as her invisibility vanished, and suddenly he was on top of her.

His hands wrapped around her neck and began to squeeze as he leered down at her, and she clawed at his sides as the pressure around her neck increased.

“A little Alliance _rat_ I see. What a shame you won’t be able to take _my_ book anywhere.” He snarled as her vision began to darken at the edges. “Such a waste of life.” He didn’t sound particularly remorseful as her hands fell to the floor. There was a vicious glint in his eyes as her vision began to blur.

She needed to do something, quickly. He was stronger than her, heavier than her, and her daggers were just out of her reach. Thinking quickly, she went limp and his hands loosened slightly before her fist struck out hard to jab him in the kidney. He let out a bark of pain and his hands went lax around her neck before she kicked him off with choking coughs. Blessed sweet air was coming back into her lungs and she dove to the side to pick up her daggers and instantly spun to fling one of them into his shoulder as he struggled back to his feet. The spell he’d been attempting to cast vanished as the dagger took him by surprise and Aellie centred herself momentarily before stepping through the shadows to be stood at his back.

With a hoarse shout of exertion, she thrust her remaining knife into the centre of his back, and the Bishop fell heavily forward onto his stomach. He cried something out as he hit the floor, but Aellie didn’t hesitate to pull out her blade and bring it across his throat. Instantly, warm liquid spilt over her hands and she leaned back to see the red blood covered across her hands and slowly pooling across the floor.

Her heart was beating loudly in her ears as she heavily inhaled, staring down at her hands. There wasn’t time to think before she heard thundering footsteps coming up the staircase, and she quickly fished her other dagger out of his shoulder before moving to the corner of the room and throwing her stealth back up just as the door opened.

A figure stood there, illuminated by the lights in the hall, and it took her a moment to register that it wasn’t one of the Onslaught members stood there, but instead her new friend Hal. His attention instantly went to the very dead body of the Bishop lying on the floor, and his expression hardened slightly before he looked up to peer around the room.

“Aellie? Are you there?” He asked quietly, and she gingerly stepped out of her corner to reveal herself to him. Instantly, he moved to her side and his hands moved to her arms as he checked her over.

“Are you alright? I saw the Bishop go back inside the Chapel but I couldn’t get around the crowd quick enough-“

“I’m fine.” She said, voice no more than a hoarse whisper after the abuse it had sustained. “I- I think. I’ve got the book. How are we getting out of here?” His eyes flared with light and the unmistakable feeling of arcane power swirled around them.

“I can return us to the Temple now.” He said softly, still drawing up his arcane power. “Just hold on tight whilst I teleport us.” She nodded and instantly moved to press herself against him, clutching at his robe with red-stained fingertips. His own arms encircled her tightly, and the heat rolling off him was relaxing as the adrenaline was beginning to wear off.

With a final surge of arcane energy, the room around them rippled and vanished before the soft light of the Temple surrounded them in its place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken a while, been in a real writing rut for a while. Hopefully I'll get a bit better of posting with some sort of schedule.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming to terms with some things, and watching where you step.

The magical warmth of the temple was doing nothing to stop the chill deep in the centre of her chest, nothing to stop the tightness of her throat or the taste of bile on her tongue. She was grateful that her new companion was at her side as all strength left her legs and she sagged in his tight grasp, her own fingers flexing uselessly against his arms. 

Hal was quiet as he brought her over to a lit fire on the edge of the adventurer’s encampment, sitting her down gently before sitting himself down next to her. Gently he pulled her to lean against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around her as she fought to get her breathing under control. They sat quietly for a long moment, and only when Aellie let out a shaky breath did Hal start to speak. 

“Was that the first time you’ve ever had to kill someone?” He asked, and his tone was impossibly gentle. She tensed slightly but answered with a shake of her head. The elf let out a soft noise of understanding and bowed his head. They stayed in a quiet companionship for a moment, Aellie watching the fire intently as her heart pounded in her ears. 

“When I was younger there was a man that tried to kill my little brother-” She started softly, voice catching at the memory. “And I killed him in defence. Just like I killed the Bishop.”

In coming to Northrend, she knew that she would be expected to defend herself and fight her way through the scourge. The desolate landscape would not allow her to be soft, and it was already proving to have tested her. Back at home, she’d heard talk about how Northrend was a place that would either make or break you – a place that would throw you to your furthest limits and keep you fighting until the very end. It had sounded so unrealistic then, back in a place where she was safe and sound in the warmth and safety of her family. But now, now it seemed so painfully real that she was struggling to fully comprehend it all. 

Her teachers had told her once that whilst she knew how to act as a rogue – knew how to hold her daggers, walk unseen in the shadows – she didn’t yet understand what it meant to actually be one. They’d told her that one day, she would understand exactly the path she’d so eagerly chosen to follow truly entailed – and that one day she might regret it all. 

Aellie stared down at her fingers that were still rusty red with blood and frowned deeply as disgust rolled through her. It seemed as though her companion could guess her thoughts, as a washbowl was placed in front of them. Taking a brief moment to roll her sleeves up without getting them filthy, she plunged her hands into the pleasantly warm water and watched as the clear liquid turned rusty. The heat leeched into her skin, and she could almost feel the soothing warmth travel up her arms and spread across her chest as her body began to relax. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before she began to swirl her hands around to fully clean them. 

It was her choice coming here; her choice to take the harder path and fight for herself in this icy hellscape. It was her choice, and she would stick by that decision. Yes, the reminder of her mortality had startled her, but she was fine. She was alive and she would continue to fight to be so until she would return home. She had killed a man tonight, but he was not a good man and it was either him or her – and living was always the preferable choice. 

“Thank you for the water.” She said quietly, and she could see Hal smile out of the corner of her eye. “And thank you for not leaving me behind.”

“You’re very welcome.” He replied warmly, just like the heat of the water and the feel of the Temple’s air. He procured a cloth for her to dry her hands, and they continued to sit in a comfortable silence for a while longer. 

Eventually, she handed him the book, and he thanked her for it. Eventually they parted ways to get some rest whilst it was still dark, heading to their respective encampments. And as she settled down to sleep in her tent, she realised that all her injuries from the fight had vanished in the warmth she’d felt. 

\----------------

Despite the apparent assassination of one of their Bishops the security around Hearthglen hadn’t seemed to have improved since their last visit. Which was very strange, because if a high-ranking member of an organisation just died and there was no perpetrator found, one would assume that they would react defensively to any possible threat. 

But there wasn’t. There was no increased guard rotation; no extra sentries posted on the walls and points across the compound – and that, Aellie thought as they made their way back to the Graveyard to meet with Agent Skully, was bizarre indeed. 

“Maybe they don’t have the bodies to spare.” Hal had replied quietly as she said as much out loud. “Who knows what they’re up to here – they might not even care that much.”

“A cult of religious zealots that don’t instantly close ranks when one of their own is killed in his own office? It seems really wrong to me.” She said back, pulling her hood a little further over her head as they approached the meeting point. 

Hal had returned to Venomspite the morning after their first venture into Hearthglen with the Hymnbook to collect his reward and get his new orders whilst Aellie had stayed in the Temple. When he’d returned with his orders, they’d promptly set off to reach the Forsaken Spy. 

Agent Skully was in the Graveyard again, knee-deep in a fresh grave she was digging; frowning at the exertion of throwing huge shovelfuls of dirt over her shoulder. Aellie detached herself from Hal as he uncloaked himself, but this time she stayed nearby as Skully instantly looked up at him. They nodded to each other and Skully stopped in her digging. 

“Good job with the Bishop and the Book.” There was an odd reverb to her voice, now that Aellie was closer to hear her. “Your next job is going to be a little harder, however.”

“I’m sure I can manage.” Hal replied breezily, and Skully just shrugged at him. Aellie was pretty certain she could actually hear the grinding of her bones as she did it. 

“There’s a High Abbot called Landgren that knows the location of some important documents here; your job is to get to him and question him about where those documents are. You’re a mage so I’m hoping you can alter yourself to look like one of the Clergy to get closer to him. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to separate him from his bodyguards or you’ll never get any information out of him.” Skully paused and leans on her shovel as she thinks about it for a moment. “There’s a bell on top of the Abbey – if you ring it, his guards should come to investigate whilst you can sneak past to speak with him.”

“Sounds easy enough. What exactly are the documents I’m after?” Hal questioned, glancing about as if to double-check no one had suddenly emerged to see them talking. 

“It’s a diary that’s kept by the High General here – supposedly it’s got a lot of important intel on the Scarlet Onslaught’s mission.” 

He nods and vanishes again, waiting for a moment before starting in the direction of the building that Aellie assumed was the Abbey. It only took her a couple hurried steps to catch up with his slight shimmer as she reached out to touch his arm again to make herself known. He didn’t even flinch this time, and she smirked. 

“How about you make the distraction this time?” He asked, and she could almost hear the smile in his voice.

“What? You think I’ll get into trouble again?” She quipped back with a quiet laugh, feeling airy as she kept pace with him. The Abbey loomed above them, the dark stone foreboding as it was framed by the gentle grey sky. “I’m sure I can ring a bell without any great danger.”

“I’m glad you feel up to the task. We’ll meet around the back after we’re done.” She nodded in agreement and patted his arm gently as she slipped away from him, moving faster now that she was alone and not having to watch out for him as well. 

The doors to the Abbey were open as she rounded the front and she slipped inside silently as a cold breeze tumbled around her feet. This building was smaller than the Chapel, possibly built for a more personal service and congregation, but still held the similar sweeping arched roof and ornate candelabras that held gently burning candles. There were two people sat on the pews, head bowed in deep prayer and she moved through the shadows and to the door at the back of the hall. 

Thankfully, the door didn’t make a sound as she opened it and moved inside, but she threw a glance back to check that the worshippers hadn’t heard anything before gently closing the door. The staircase was smaller again, a straight spiral upwards that she didn’t look forward to trying to get back down. Her footsteps were near silent as she ascended into the bell tower that rested in the open air, and she took a moment to survey the compound properly from her new vantage. 

The evening was beginning to settle into the air and the wind was cold around her, and she didn’t begrudge the zealots for staying inside at all – it certainly made sneaking around far easier. A single bell was hanging in front of her, probably as tall and about twice as wide as she was. The bronze metal was plain and simple, nothing like the collection of huge ornate bells that were in the Cathedral in Stormwind. 

Aellie felt a small pang for her home, so far away across the sea – so far away from her. 

Sighing gently, she reached up for the thick rope and pulled with all her strength, only just managing to properly to move the heavy bell. For a second her feet came off the ground as the counterweight lifted her up, and she let out a slight squeak as the noise echoed into the darkening sky. The reverberations made her ears ring and her teeth ache, and she let go of the moving rope to land steadily on her feet. 

As she slipped into her stealth, she moved to head back down the bell tower but stopped as her eyes focused on the flickering light in the stairs that hadn’t been there when she’d climbed. Quickly she moved back to the top of the tower whilst straining to hear, and as she reached the edge of the platform, she could hear the footfalls of a couple of people climbing to the top. Aellie swore softly and glanced around her. The bell platform was too small for her to stay on top of – the moment they reached the top her stealth would mean nothing as they bumped into her. She couldn’t go down the stairs either or the same thing would occur within the narrow space. 

She’d told herself to be more careful – this really wasn’t the best start. 

Whoever was coming up was getting close to the top, and Aellie moved to the edge that would take her onto the icy sloped roof of the Abbey. She crouched and turned, taking her weight on her hands and arms as she gingerly lowered herself down. Thankfully, the drop wasn’t too great as she steadied her balance on the slick roof stone, just in time for three people to emerge onto the platform. 

She plastered herself to the side she’d climbed down, sticking in the shadows as their torches cast light across the roof. It took a moment to quiet her breathing as the bitingly cold air raced through all the layers she was wearing. 

“It couldn’t have just rung by itself.” A female voice chided, and a lower voice scoffed. 

“Who fuckin’ knows – it’s blowin’ a gale up here. Strong gust of wind could’ve easily set it off.” A male replied, and Aellie pressed herself back further as one of them stepped to the edge. 

“We didn’t see anyone come past us, you’re probably right.” Another male voice agreed, slightly gruffer than the first. “Fuck – the Raven Priests are coming to see what the fuss is about-”

The three of them seemed to quickly move to go back down the stairs and Aellie let out a breath she’d been holding. At least her distraction had worked, now she just had to get back to wherever Hal might be. She looked across the roof wryly - maybe there was another way down that she couldn’t see? 

Aellie took a step away from the wall and steadied herself on the slanted surface, moving quietly across whilst avoiding any and all patches of ice that she could see. As she took another step the surface under her gave no traction and she instantly started to slide down, hurtling towards the edge as she struggled for something to slow or stop her. The wind flew through her hair as she very quickly reached the edge of the roof with no luck, and her hand shot out to catch a small outcropping in the stonework. 

Her shoulder burned as she stopped her whole weight suddenly, and she quickly swung her other arm up to help take the weight as she hung there for a moment. The stone creaked under her weight, and she glanced down quickly before her arms gave out on her. For a moment there was nothing but a freefall before she came down hard into a spray of snow and ice, and the drift she’d landed in collapsed back down around her. 

That certainly could have gone better, but nothing was too hurt other than the dull ache now in her shoulder where she’d caught full weight. It was a good thing that her stealth was still up, else who knows who would’ve seen her hanging off the side of the Abbey. The snow was beginning to seep into her outer layers and she slowly got to her feet to climb out of the snowdrift and move away from the Abbey. 

Hopefully, Hal would’ve questioned the Abbot by now as she caught sight of a group of dark clothed figures moving back down into the compound. Ducking behind the building she shook the snow off her clothes quickly before heading back towards the Graveyard whilst keeping her eyes peeled for the arcane shimmer of her friend. Night had truly settled in across Northrend by this point, and it was far easier to stick to the areas of shadow that the sparse lamplight didn’t illuminate as she deftly made her way through the empty streets. A light snowfall began to drop around her, and she glanced back to watch as the white flakes began to cover over any small marks she’d made on the ground. Whilst falling off a roof hadn’t been the best plan, everything else seemed to be working in her favour. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the air shimmer behind one of the houses, and she quickly moved to reach behind it. There was an instant feeling of warmth as her hand caught a robed arm, and Hal yelped slightly as they ducked behind one of the smaller buildings. She laughed softly as he scowled down at her, his short hair looking mussed and a slight flush over his cheeks. 

“By the Sunwell – I could’ve burned you!” He exclaimed, fighting to keep his voice down as she grinned up at him. 

“Next time I’ll try to give some warning,” She said, half laughing still as he shook his head. “How did it go?”

“I know where the book is; but it was strange, the Abbot saw through my disguise almost instantly. He said that some ‘Master’ had told him I was coming, gave me the information without so much as raising his voice. And then he turned and jumped off a cliff.” He told her, and there was a beat before she realised he wasn’t joking with her. 

“He jumped off a – what? You didn’t push him or anything?” She asked incredulously. 

“Why would I have- no I didn’t push him. He just turned and leapt into the air!” He scowled at her again, as though he couldn’t believe that she would suggest such a thing. 

“Huh. That is strange.” She conceded, and he then seemed pleased that she believed him. “I wonder who his ‘Master’ is – I don’t think that’s a term much used in a religious hierarchy.”  
Aellie then made a half step closer to him, as he was still radiating heat as only a fire mage could, and he stared at her. 

“What? It’s cold.” He shook his head with a gentle smile, and for a brief moment he flared just a little warmer. Aellie could feel the heat move deep into her bones and she grinned at him. Seems it was proving handy to have a personal hearth with her in the coldest place on Azeroth. 

“The book is located in her house, which is the big living quarters near the stables.” He then told her just as she realised that her shoulder was no longer hurting. “I think we will need something bigger to pull her out of her home, whilst you sneak in to get it.”

“What are you thinking?” She questioned and he flexed his fingers out, a small drop of fire dancing around his digits. They nodded to one another, and Aellie cast her shroud around the two of them as they headed back across the camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! Life's been kicking me in the butt, but I'm on a writing kick and I'm gonna ride it for as long as possible. I wanted to post this ASAP so if there's a mistake or two I'm sorry.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, I had wanted to get this one up before the new year, but i missed it by about two hours :) oh well! I hope you enjoy! I'm (hopefully) going to get a better schedule to write and post chapters so we can really start getting into the thick of Aellie's adventures.

The bell had awoken most of the encampment, as the amount of patrolling guards seemed to triple in the time it took them to move stealthily through the snow. Small clusters of priests and what appeared to be the civilian members moved hastily through the paths around them, seemingly ready to jump at shadows as most of them moved like rivers towards the main cathedral. Aellie was almost surprised with how many people there suddenly seemed to be in general, almost as if the Onslaught had finally reacted to their meddling and had begun to pull their people back to safety.

It took the two intruders a little longer to reach the stables this time, as they’d both been careful to pick their way slowly and silently up and around buildings as not to bump into anyone. There weren’t as many guards here, only a group of three stood shivering in front of the wooden doors of the stables. They were all bundled up in mismatched armour and thick woollens – obviously protected against weapons was an afterthought in the fight against keeping warm – and with their flushed cheeks and chattering teeth, the three of them looked very young.

Aellie could feel Hal at her back as they came to hide against the corner of the building, and she paused for a moment to listen.

“Well I ‘eard that it’s them forsaken folk over in the forest that did it.” The middle one seemed to be arguing against something the other two had said. “Used the blight apparently and everthin’.”

“Why would the forsaken Blight their own people? Both Horde and Alliance died at the Wrathgate.” The shorter female told him matter-of-factly. “The Horde might be monsters, but I don’t think they’d willingly betray their own forces.”

“Eh, what’s a couple hundred orcs to them? I heard that the Alliance casualties were a lot worse – heard they took that Highlord Commander down.” The other female said, before leaning down to spit in the snow. “Should’ve been fightin’ with us anyway – shame another paladin was lost to those Forsaken dogs.”

They continued to bicker for a moment, and Aellie felt the wind blow across her cheeks as she took a moment to understand what they were saying. Something had happened at the base of the Citadel – something bad by the sounds of it. The Onslaught forces hadn’t been recalled because of her and Hal, but because of something the Forsaken had possibly done that involved the Blight. Her mind raced for a moment before it circled back quickly – the Highlord Commander? Surely there was only one person that could mean –

Aellie startled suddenly as Hal nudged her in the back and she caught herself before she spilled forward, before quickly moving back past him to the far back wall of the stables. Her stealth dropped for a moment and she took in a shaking breath of ice-cold air that prickled her chest. The mage appeared at her side a heartbeat later, a look of concern on his face.

“Are you alright? What happened?” He asked with a whisper that she barely heard over the wind. For a moment she couldn’t find the words past the lump in her throat and she found herself rapidly blinking her stinging eyes. “Aellie?”

“I’m fine-” She coughed out, evidently unconvincingly by the way his concerned expression only deepened. “It’s nothing-”

“Aellie you’re tearing up-“ He said, shifting to shield her from a bit of the wind. “The Wrathgate – did you know someone there?”

In a moment her mind raced, picturing an image of Alliance forces in her minds eye with their fearless leader at the head of the company – faces she probably knew and people who’d lived in her home all their lives and she could feel the tears welling harder. She thought of that Highlord Commander and her heart hurt.

“No-” She tried again, the lie sounding even worse this time. The lump was back in her throat, and this time she could taste the bitterness of grief before she wiped her eyes angrily. “Just the thought of all those Alliance men gone - and the wind in my eyes stings a little. I- I’m fine. Let’s just get on with what we need to do.”

“No, we can do this another day,” Hal replied softly, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. It took her a second to realise that he was trying to comfort her. “I don’t think you’re in the right head space now.”

“I said I’m fine.” She growled, the lie sounding a bit better now. “I can do this.”

“You’re not _fine_.” He argued back, eyes blazing in the darkness. “The book can wait for now, you could get hurt-“

“Just get on with your part; the book will not wait.” Her voice was like acid, and he opened his mouth to retort with furrowed eyebrows. His eyes were flaming, both literally and figuratively, but Aellie didn’t care. She could do this – and he was _not_ going to stop her.

With a snarl she shoved past him and vanished, moving fluidly out of his reach as he attempted to pull her back. She ignored the call of her name as she pressed on around the building to reach the front of the High General’s living place.

It was a large establishment in comparison to most of the houses within the Onslaught’s compound, heavy grey brick that looked like it would do well to withstand the cold of coastal Northrend. Thick misted glass flickered with gentle firelight, and Aellie moved to peak through a gap in the curtains to see what she guessed was an empty receiving room of some sort. Obviously the Onslaught wanted to treat their high ranking members to some relative comfort and luxury, as the room looked almost lavishly decorated – dark oak furniture with rich cushioning, thick rugs and throws scattered around, and a beautifully crafted deep hearth that was crackling with a rather neglected looking fire.

The guards from a moment ago had wandered a little down the path and she took the moment to move to the front door, reaching to gently test the handle on the door in the unlikely case that the High General had left it unlocked. Sadly, the door didn’t budge and Aellie swore softly before moving onwards, creeping around the banks of snow that had gathered under the front facing windows to climb over a small fence and around the back.

Sheltered from the worst of the weather by the house proper, there was what appeared to be a small garden – with a bench and a bird bath stood and covered with a generous dusting of snow. It was optimistic, in Aellie’s opinion and she couldn’t picture anyone really coming out her to relax or enjoy the weather. There was a small porch that linked the garden and the house, with a simple dark wooden door beside what appeared to be a kitchen window.

Aellie moved to the lock again and wiggled it slightly. Locked again, but this she could work with. Grabbing her tools from her hip pouches, she dipped into a crouch and carefully inserted the tension wrench into the lock and began to carefully pick the pins until she could turn it with a satisfying ‘click’. She moved to the side of the door as she placed her tools away in their appropriate spots, and after a moment she opened the door and stepped inside as quickly as she could.

Almost instantly her body began to relax as the gentle warmth of the house seeped past her cloak and into her bones, but she remained on high alert as she surveyed the kitchen methodically. There was a kettle next to the stove, and she held her hand up to hover next to the side – borderline tepid, but not scalding. Someone had been here recently, but not recently enough for her to be concerned about. Perfect.

Continuing downstairs, she glanced into the receiving room again, and then across the hall to a moderately sized dining room – once again boasting a heavy table and eight chairs in the same dark oak as the rest of the house. Aellie paused for a moment and considered it a little closer. It looked Gilnean in design, Gothic in the detail that gave it a sense of severity and importance. It reminded her of home for a moment, and the lump in her throat caught again before she turned back on her heel.

The hallway linked the three rooms to the front door, and to a staircase that Aellie began to slowly climb. The wood gently groaned under her weight, and she paused at the top as though someone was going to come racing out of a room to confront her. Thankfully, there was nothing expect the noise of the wind outside, and a distant sound of a bell being rung.

That was hopefully Hal and the distraction, and Aellie moved a little faster now to the room right at the top of the landing. Behind the door was a reasonably sized office that boasted more of the dark oak furniture; a grand desk placed in front of a bay window that looked out into greater Northrend, full floor to ceiling bookshelves that stretched across all the wall space and looked to be bursting with many different books of all sizes and colours, and a large and heavy looking chaise with plush velvet cushioning and a think blanket draped over the end of it.

The room was toasty - most likely enchanted due to the lack of actual fireplace, Aellie noted as she moved across the floor and onto the thick rug that sat in the centre. The desk looked like a case of organised chaos, with papers strewn about in haphazard piles – some looking to be official and others scraps of hastily scribbled notes with the occasional unfinished doodle scribbled on the edge – and there were several pens and quills scattered about between pages and piles. A stack of several books sat in the one corner, and Aellie trailed a finger across their spines as she read over them – nothing exactly integral to her search as most of them appeared to be geographical in nature.

Moving around to the front of it she could see an almost symmetrical set of draws on each side that were set into the legs of the desk, and a quick rifle through those draws only revealed more loose paper and odds and ends. Gently, she pulled the chair back and moved to her knees, hands trailing under the wood before her hand catches on a small and almost unnoticeable outcropping that isn’t mirrored on the other side.

A gentle press inward of the button sounded with a great ‘ _click_ ’ that almost made her jump, before a neat shelf dropped open on the underside and she reached in gingerly to pull out a thin book. Her fingers traced over the ornate lettering on the cover, and she opened it slowly to read the first page. Helpfully, it is titled the diary of the High General on page one, and the next few pages begin her recollection of the Light finally communicating with her, and the accounts of the new death knights attacking where she’d been previously stationed. Those knights seemed to have ruined whatever plans she’d had, as the text seemed to get more confusing and stranger as she continued to read. Flicking ahead a few pages she paused and scanned the scratched passages with narrowed eyes.

Instead of a language that made sense, the only writing on the page was a mess of foreign letters and symbols and Aellie sighed slightly. Hopefully, those that wanted this book had a way to decode the information from inside else it would be just as useless to them as it was to her now. And she was pretty certain that this was the one that they wanted – she doubted there would be many other hidden and coded books in this office.

With careful hands she tucked the book away into her pack and set the shelf back into the desk with another ‘ _click_ ’ and moved the chair back to where it was sat, before climbing back to her feet and nodding her head with satisfaction. There would be time to congratulate herself later – she just had to get out of here now safe and with her important cargo.

She moved back to the door of the office and on through the door, instantly shivering as a slight gust of cold wind shattered the bubble of warmth she’d been in. With a frown she moved down the stairs, hitting the bottom step with a subtle creak that made her wince, and another breeze drifted past as she turned to go back down the hallway.

There was only a slight warning of a sharp exhale that gave her the time to move out of the way of a sword being stabbed into the space she’d been in, and she half stumbled to turn around and draw her knives as quickly as she could to just catch the next swing of the blade as it came down upon her. As the blades locked, she looked up at the face of a furious woman bearing down upon her – her mouth twisted into a snarl and she pushed all her weight down into her sword.

“I thought I might find someone sneaking about here when the fires started.” She snarled. “I told them those fires were just a distraction.”  Aellie braced herself and the High General pulled her sword back and stabbed it back towards her, as quick as a whip. She just managed to step to the side, but thudded against the banister of the stairs she’d just come down before moving to roll past the woman as she brought her sword down again

“We’ve caught your spies before, but none of them gave us anything as we _tortured_ them.” She growled, and Aellie watched sharply as she tightened her grasp on the hilts of her blades. “You look like you’ll sing the secrets for us-“

“I really don’t think that’s going to happen.” Aellie replied hastily as she leapt out of the way of a wide swing, and there was a small crack of wood as the force of the swing embedded the tip of the blade into the wall. Taking the moment, she dashed forward and brought her knives across the outstretched arms of Abbendis. The woman howled as the blades cut into her arms and she lashed out with her right hand to catch the rogue across the chest, sending Aellie stumbling backwards as she moved to pull out her sword properly.

Fighting in a narrow hallway against a rather reckless warrior was not fun, Aellie decided as she continued to move away from the hacking swings of the sword in front of her. Whilst the High General raged onward, it was taking all her attention to keep the blade away from her body and hope that the other woman would tire soon so she could find an opening. She could either go through the woman to get to the back door or make a dash to one of the side rooms to go around her. Either option would continue the fight somehow, and whilst the open space of the rooms would give Aellie more to work with – it would also give the warrior move room to manoeuvre around in.

“Never mind the torture! I’m going to gut you here!” Abbendis yelled and Aellie could only just redirect the sword away before the warrior was suddenly up in her face and slamming their heads together. The force sent her reeling, and a sharp pain erupted in her side as blood sprays against the wall.

She could feel her heart beating in her ears as she clumsily dodged a possibly fatal blow that was aimed directly as her chest and thrust her own dagger towards Abbendis’ chest, and the High General cried out with pain as the blade caught the flesh of her shoulder. With a moment to breath the rogue back up towards the front door, pressing her empty hand firmly against the now burning pain in her side and she glanced down briefly to see her dark leathers slick and shiny with the blood coming from her wound.

“Not so bold now are we little rogue. Oh I’m gonna have fun with you.“ Abbendis taunted as she pulled the knife out and threw it on the ground, raising her sword again to charge.

But Aellie could see this time that her grasp was weaker, and the sword almost shook in her grasp as she began to sprint forward. She could see that the knife had done some serious damage to the warrior’s form, and for a moment it was as though the world slowed to a crawl.

The shadows of the hall seemed to darken slightly as the lamplight flickered sluggishly, and Aellie felt a cool pressure stretch up and around her skin – and in a moment she felt centred in the shadows. Her heartbeat was still in her ears but there was a rhythm to it this time, and she took a deep calming breath.

As smoothly as she could, her weight shifted backwards to brace off her foot as the General came hurtling towards her with a dangerous speed – but not fast enough. Time seemed to snap back as Aellie ducked low under the sword and pulled her own blade across Abbendis’ stomach as she went, continuing on to pick up the other dagger off the floor. The General turned with a sluggish movement to face her, one hand pressed against her abdomen as blood trickled past her fingers, and Aellie snarled at her viciously as she stepped through the shadow to appear at her back and thrust her daggers into her lower back.

For a moment Aellie moved faster than she’d ever moved before, her body stepping around in a flurry of quick steps and stabs that bloodied the General further – her knives moving as an extension of her hands to find all the weak points she could to tear into. The General sluggishly moved to turn to retaliate with a low moan of pain but Aellie was ready, and shadow stepped to her side and to shove her off balance and clattering onto the floor.

The woman fumbled for her sword but could only brush her fingers across the pommel as she gurled wetly, blood beginning to pool on the floor below her as she could only glare up at the rogue stood above her. The light began to return to the hall as Aellie panted heavily, pressing her hand again to her side with a rush of lightness in her head that made her vision swim briefly. With a slight stumble, she moved over to kneel at the warrior’s side and frown down at the dying woman slightly.

Part of her wanted to leave her to bleed and choke on her blood, but she knew that wouldn’t be right – no matter what might have happened had their positions been reversed. With a tight grasp of her dagger, she paused for a moment to mutter a final prayer over Abbendis.

“May the Light welcome you home, and may you find peace within it’s embrace.”

The woman almost looked surprised, and there was a look of acceptance washed over her face before Aellie slipped her blade into her chest firmly, the way that her teachers had taught her that would be as quick and painless as possible.

For a moment she sat there, panting over the body of the High General whilst the wound at her hip pulsed in pain. She had to get moving – if she was found by Abbendis then more might come looking for her, and she was in no state to fight anyone else. Her knife pulled free with a wet slide, and she sheathed both blades securely in their holders with a promise to clean them once she was safe and not bleeding to death. Before she stood up, she caught sight of a golden chain tucked loosely under the General’s coat and moved to peel an ornate golden cross out into the air. Aellie tugged sharply and the chain snapped clean before she placed the necklace into her bags and clambered to her feet.

The world spun slightly, and she kept a hand tightly pressed to her side as she trudged through the house towards the back door, that was now open wide and allowing billowing wind to race in through the warmth. She half stepped half fell down the steps and barely caught herself from falling face first into the snow.

Her hands felt soaked at her side, and the chill in the air was slowly wrapping around her in a deadly embrace. In the short time she’d been inside the dark night sky was alight with hues of orange and red with sparks of white-hot flames dancing in the breeze. Rounding the corner of the house revealed the image of the great cathedral at the head of New Hearthglenn ablaze and the members of the Onslaught pouring out into the fire bright night.

Her side pulsed painfully, and she felt her legs give out as she toppled backwards into the snow, landing heavily as black spots danced across her vision. Above her, the sky continued to burn crimson.

**Author's Note:**

> and so this begins. I genuinely love wow with all my heart and i've wanted to start writing about Aellie literally since i first designed her. Hopefully, I'll stick to this inspired run and keep it going <3


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